It’s challenging to write comedy, says Janardhan Chikkanna

Narender Singh

posted on 1 year ago

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Writer-director Janardhan Chikkanna, who made a mark with cyber thriller, 'Gultoo', is now diving into the world of comedy with 'Powder'. He talks about comedies drawing higher footfalls, making most of the ensemble cast at his disposal and more

New Delhi: On Sunday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced that the party may contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections independently if not accommodated by the opposition INDIA bloc. He clarified that the Samajwadi Party would focus on seats where it has a strong presence and would not jeopardize the alliance.

Yadav mentioned that the party has already nominated candidates for five of the 12 seats it has requested from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. These candidates include Dhule City, Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Bhiwandi East, Bhiwandi West, and Malegaon Central. Despite demanding 12 seats, the SP had only contested four in the 2019 elections, winning two.

"The state president of the Samajwadi Party will make the final decision. Initially, we will attempt to remain in the alliance. However, if the MVA does not accommodate us, we will contest seats where we can garner votes or where our organization is active. We will target seats that won't harm the alliance, but politics allows no room for sacrifice," stated Akhilesh Yadav.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi warned the MVA that if they are not allocated five seats, the party would be forced to declare candidates for up to 25 seats. The MVA coalition includes Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP, and the Congress.

MVA Seat-Sharing Arrangement
The MVA alliance has announced its seat-sharing plan for the 255 constituencies, allocating 85 seats to each party. The remaining 23 seats will be divided based on each party's candidate lists. Maharashtra has a total of 288 assembly seats, with voting scheduled for November 20. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won the most seats with 105, followed by the then-undivided Shiv Sena with 56, the NCP with 54, and Congress with 44.

AAP's Role in the MVA Campaign
Another member of the INDIA bloc, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has decided not to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. Instead, party leader Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for the MVA candidates, as announced by AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Saturday. "In the Maharashtra elections, Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for the MVA candidates. The Aam Aadmi Party will not be contesting elections in Maharashtra," said Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, in a post on X.

INDIA Bloc